Broom hanger



July 1o, 1934. F E BROWN 1,965,973

BRooM HANGER Filed July 11, 1933 Patented July 10, 1934 BROOM HANGERFrank Elwood Brown, New Haven, Conn.

Application July 11, l1933, Serial No. 679,839

5 Claims.

My invention relates 'to improvements in a broom hanger which may beattached to the wall of a room by screws or other means.

The invention consists of a simple device for holding a. broom handle byfriction between two rollers spaced a short distance apart.

The device largely consists of a wooden block upon the face of which aresecured two similar knobs or rollers held on corresponding pivots, Thelocation of each .pivot upon its corresponding roller is such as to givean oscillating' or eccentric motion to its roller when rotated. Therotation of the rollersV is fixed within certain limits by means of astop pin driven into and projecting vfrom the back of each roller. Eachstop pin projects into a corresponding stop hole extending through thewooden block.

An elongated slot in the back, extending only part way through thethickness of the block, 2'() and occupying all of the area between thestop holes ris one of the mai-n features of the invention as it allows aspring to be fastened Ato and move freely between the two said stop pinsfor the purpose of holding the rollers as near to their closed or normalposition as possible, thereby increasing the friction o-n a broom handleinserted between the rollers. The mechanism within the block may becovered on the back by a strong paper sticker, preferably a printedlabel.

With these and other advantages, the invention is simple and easilymanufactured at small cost and occupies little space as the wooden blockon which the rollers are fastened, may be secured to the wall of a roomin any convenient location.

In the drawing, similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views.

Figure 1 is an oblique projection view of the invention showing how thehandle of a. broom is held by friction between the rollers.

Figure 2 is an elevation of the face with a section of front remo-vedshowing the different parts when in use.

Figure 3 is an elevation of the face showing how the space between therollers may be varied and how ythe stop holes are always covered on theface by the rollers within the limits of their range.

Figure 4 is a side or end elevation showing a bevelled edge of a rollerand the position of the pivot pin and screw holes for fastening thewooden block to the wall.

Figure 5 is an elevation of the back of the wooden block showing thestop holes through said wooden block and the slot between the stop holesfor 'allowing 'the spring attached to the stop pins to be moved lup ordown.

Figure 6 is a vertical'secti'on 'on section line 1'3-13 of Figure 5showing the normal position of 'a stop pin, the slot in which the springis moved and a stop hole through the wooden block.

Figure 7 is a horizontal section on section line '14-14 of Figure 5showing the slot and the spring attached to the stop `pins. l YReferring more particularly to the preferred 'form of the invention asshown in Figures 2, 5, and 7, 1 represents the wooden block attached tothe wall b`y means 'of screws 2 passing through screw holes 3 throughthe block ofwood 1. 1

Two corresponding rollers 4 'are fastened to the wooden block l as shownin Figures 3 'and 5 by means of corresponding nails 5 passing throughcor-responding holes 1l through the wooden block'. l, and then saidnails are driven into each wooden Vroller 4 near its circumference at alevel slight- *is ly below the centers of the rollers 4nwhen in normalposition. Each of these nails 5 serve as a pivot for rotating itsrespective roller as 'each nail rotates with its respective roller, eachh'ole 11 through the block serving as a bearing for its pivot.

Referring to Figures 5 and 7, a slot 6 extending part way into the backof the wooden block 1 covers the area between two holes 7. The holes 7,however, pass entirely through the block of wood 1 so that each of twocorresponding stop pins 8 driven into its corresponding roller 4 maymove within the limits of its corresponding hole '7. The rollers 4 towhich their corresponding stop pins 8 are fastened, are rotated withtheir pivots 5 when the handle of a broom or other utensil is forcedwithin the space 9 between the rollers 4, thereby raising the rollers 4a suflicient distance to allow the broom handle or other utensil to beinserted.

Each opposite end of a spring 10 as shown in Figure 7 is fastened to acorresponding stop pin 8. When the rollers 4 are forced apart, or drawnnearer together, the spring 10 is extended or contracted and movesupward or downward within the slot 6 correspondingly. Each roller 4 mayrevolve with its respective pivot 5 Vapproximately fifty degrees, thisbeing the limit of its oscillation as governed by its attached stop pin8 which moves within the confines of its respective stop hole 7.

The fixed limit in closing the rollers to normal position provides theproper space for placing a broom handle before it is pushed in betweenthe bevelled edges of the rollers. The fixed limit to the spread ofrollers is for the purposel of preventing stretching the spring too far,and also to prevent the rollers from rotating beyondv the stop holes andthus uncovering said stop holes to exposure.

The bearing holes 11 are countersunk in the block 1 a suiicient depth sothat the head of each pivot nail 5 will easily rotate below the surfaceof the block when the device is fastened to the wall and a broom handleis inserted in the space 9 between the rollers 4. When the rollers 4 arepushed apart, the spring 10 stretches and moves upward within the slot 6because the holes 7 allow their respective stop pins 8 to move Withincertain limits. When the rollers 4 are released, the spring 10 returnsthe rollers 4 to their normal position and closes the space 9 betweensaid rollers 4 to its smallest size, as the stop pins 8 are now broughtagainst the sides of the stop holes 7 respectively. A special facing 12may be placed around the circumference of each roller 4 to, increase thefriction against a broom handle when held between the rollers.

In use the hanger operates in the following manner: The handle of abroom or mop is pushed against the bevelled edges of the pair of rollers4 with a slight lifting motion at the same time releasing hold of theVhandle.V This action causes the rollers 4 to spread to the requireddistance to admit the handle between them. The weight of the broomassisted by the tension of the spring l0 between the rollers 4 producessufficient friction to hold the broom handle between the rollers 4 withan eccentric or cam action grip. The greater the downward pull of thehandle, the greater the friction grip on the rollers because the rollers4 are closed more tightly.

I do not limit myself to the material of which the device is made;neither do I limit myself to the kind of spring used, or the mode offastening the rollers to their block as all these may be varied and arewithin the spirit of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a hanger for brooms, a wooden block having holes extendingtherethrough, two rollers each fastened to said block over acorresponding hole', a stop pin fastened to each of the rollers andextending into the holes in the block, and a spring having the endsthereof attached to said stop pins.

2. In a hanger for brooms, a Wooden block having holes extendingtherethrough, two rollers each fastened to said block over acorresponding hole, a stop pin fastened to each of the rollers andextending into the holes in the block, and a spring having the endsthereof attached= to said stop pins and movable within a slot in thesaid block.

3. In a hanger for brooms, a Wooden block having holes extendingtherethrough, two rollers each eccentrically fastened to said block overa corresponding hole, a stop pin fastened to each of the rollers andextending into the holes in the block, and a spring having the endsthereof attached to said stop pins and movable within an elongated slotextending part way into the rear of the said wooden block, said slotextending between the said stop holes an-d having a Width approximatelyequal to the diameter of each stophole throughout the length of saidslot.

4. In a hanger for brooms, a wooden block hav- .100 ing holes extendingtherethrough, two rollers each fastened to said block over acorresponding hole by a pivot passing through a bearing hole in thewooden block and into its corresponding roller near its circumference,the head of each pivot positioned to rotate in a counter sunk hole inthe wooden block, and a stop pin fastened to each of the rollers andextending into holes in the block, and a spring having the ends thereofattached to said stop pins and movable in a slot within the woodenblock.

5. In a hanger for brooms, a block having holes extending therethrough,two rollers with their outer edges bevelled each fastened to said blockover a corresponding hole, a stop pin fastened to each of the rollersand extending into the holes in the block, and a spring having the endsthereof attached to said stop pins and movable in a slot located in theblock.

FRANK ELWOOD BROWN.

